


a scattered assemblage

by floraltohru



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Anniversary, Anxiety, Babysitting, Confessions, Confinement, Domesticity, Drabble Collection, Drinking, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Kissing, Engagement, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Flash Fic, Fluff, Ghosts, Graduation, Grocery Shopping, House Party, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Minor Injuries, Moving In Together, Multi, Nightmares, One-Sided Attraction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Past Abuse, Pining Ayame, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Rare Pairings, Secret Admirer, Stargazing, Student Council, Teasing, Tumblr Prompt, Unrequited Crush, Valentine's Day, Wedding Dates, White Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 16,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23916382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floraltohru/pseuds/floraltohru
Summary: An assortment of drabbles based on prompts from tumblr
Relationships: Honda Katsuya/Honda Kyouko, Honda Tohru & Kuragi Machi, Honda Tohru & Sohma Kisa, Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou, Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou/Sohma Yuki, Honda Tohru/Sohma Rin, Kuragi Machi/Sohma Kyou, Kuragi Machi/Sohma Rin, Kuragi Machi/Sohma Yuki, Manabe Kakeru & Sohma Kyou, Manabe Kakeru/Sohma Yuki, Sohma Akito/Sohma Shigure, Sohma Ayame/Sohma Shigure, Sohma Hatori/Sohma Shigure, Sohma Hatsuharu/Sohma Rin, Sohma Hatsuharu/Sohma Yuki, Sohma Hiro/Sohma Kisa, Sohma Kyou & Honda Kyoko, Sohma Kyou/Sohma Yuki
Comments: 73
Kudos: 150





	1. Mitsumame (Rin x Tohru)

“Did you run here?” Rin asks, looking down at an out-of-breath Tohru on her doorstep. 

“Yes!” Tohru gasps. “I was just so excited to see you!” She throws her arms around Rin’s waist, and Rin buries her face in Tohru’s hair to hide her blush. 

When Tohru finally breaks away, Rin pulls her over the threshold. Tohru wrinkles her nose and looks around. “Rin!” she cries. “Did you cook?” She clasps her hands together and looks at Rin like she hung the moon. 

“It’s not a big deal,” Rin says, trying for nonchalant. In truth, she had spent most of the afternoon agonizing on the phone with Kagura, who graciously walked her through every step of the meal preparation. 

“Oh! I brought you something,” Tohru says, rocking back and forth on her toes. Rin is always taken aback by how springy Tohru is - she’s still bouncing as she digs around in her bag for a container. “Here!” she says, handing it to Rin. 

It’s not chocolate. It’s not flowers. It’s not jewelry. 

It’s better. 

“Mitsumame,” Rin breathes.

“I hope it turned out alright! I’ve only made it a couple times, and I didn’t want to bring ice cream with me because it would melt, so we might have to go get that and - Rin? Are you alright?” 

Rin buries her face in her hands, and mumbles something unintelligible. 

“Huh?” 

“I said, you’re too damn cute,” Rin repeats, her palms still glued to her cheeks. 

Tohru pries Rin’s fingers away from her face, then stretches on her tiptoes to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. “Happy anniversary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read on the wiki that Rin has stomach problems so she likes gelatin, Mitsumame is a Japanese gelatin dessert typically served with fresh fruit and ice cream. ^^ 
> 
> Written for the prompt "You're too damn cute" for @tohruzu on tumblr!
> 
> Originally appeared on my blog @floraltohru.


	2. Fruitless (Platonic Kagura & Momiji)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagura tries to offer words of wisdom.

When he starts shuffling his books into his bag, Kagura looks up at Momiji. 

"Where are you going?" she asks, taking an ear bud out and sticking a note in her Chem 101 textbook. 

"Oh, I'm going to Shigure's," Momiji says, trying to keep his voice neutral. "Tohru is teaching me how to cook."

"I thought you had to study."

He shrugs. "I'm sure I'll do fine on the quiz."

"We've talked about this," she says, frowning.

"My grades are fine." He fidgets with one of the pins on his backpack.

"Not your grades, Momiji." 

"She's just nice to be around," he says at last, pulling his backpack over his shoulders "That's all."

"If I could just get you to understand…" Kagura starts. 

"No," he says, his fingers tightening around the straps of his backpack. "I understand."

Kagura lets him leave, turning her music back up when he does. 

Momiji walks to Shigure's house by himself, and he smiles like nothing is wrong when he gets there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for @nervous-cabbage on tumblr for the prompt "If I could just get you to understand..."


	3. Breathe (Tohru x Rin)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin has a nightmare, Tohru is an angel.

It’s hard to say what the nightmare was about. 

Rin couldn’t pinpoint the exact events if she tried, but it doesn’t really matter; the aftermath is always the same whether it’s her parents or Akito. She wakes up with a feeling, like her lungs are about to give out, or like she needs to run away, as far away, as fast as she can. She jerks upward, ready to flee. 

“Ah?” A sleepy voice drags Rin back to reality, and suddenly she’s crashing, crashing, back to the real world. Right. She’s in her bed. In her apartment. On her street. In her pajamas. Tohru is next to her, starting to stir. “Rin?” 

“Go back to sleep,” she mumbles.

Tohru opens her eyes, smiling at Rin sleepily. Then she sits up, alert, and rubs the sleep from her eyes. “You’re trembling,” she murmurs, taking one of Rin’s hands in her own. She presses a light kiss to her knuckles. “Dreams again?” 

Rin nods, her free hand gripping the bedsheets. 

“Let’s count our breaths,” Tohru suggests. She breathes with Rin, in and out, a hand steady on Rin’s back until she stops shaking. 

Then Tohru pulls her back down, wrapping her in arms that are deceptively strong and steady for someone so small. 

And in the morning maybe Rin will laugh about the position they find themselves in; Tohru is curled around her, but so short that her nose is pressed between Rin’s sharp shoulderblades. For now, Rin fixates on the feeling of Tohru’s fingers tracing lazy circles on her waist until she falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for the prompt "You're trembling" for anonymous.


	4. Threshold (Rin x Haru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Haru move in together.

Their new apartment is dusty, and a part of Rin wishes she would’ve taken Tohru up on her offer to help clean up before they moved in. 

A larger part of Rin is shouting about how excited she is to make curtains for the bedroom, and it’s admittedly difficult to hear much else. 

While she’s determining which pieces she’s going to arrange on the gallery wall, Rin trips over a crate of Haru’s assorted jewelry-making implements and drops a box of kitchen plates. She hopes a couple of them are salvageable, but judging by the cacophony she’s not hopeful. 

“See, this is why we can’t have nice things,” Haru deadpans as he helps her off the floor, even though Rin is pretty sure it hasn’t even been fifteen minutes since he shattered their entire collection of secondhand wine glasses. 

“You’re literally the most annoying person alive,” she says, but she can’t keep herself from smiling. 

Hary pulls her in close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “And now you get to put up with me every day.” 

After a blessed moment of rest, Rin pulls away. “I should use the broken plates in a sculpture,” she says. “We need a piece for the balcony.” 

Haru watches her walk away, wondering how she’s going to manage when they have a nursery to decorate and a whole apartment to babyproof. 

The windows need washed and the floors need swept and the few remaining dishes need to be stowed away in the cabinets, but it’s theirs. 

By the end of the night, they still haven’t unpacked the box with their linens, so Haru and Rin collapse in each other’s arms on the bare mattress, and sleep better than they have in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for FlyAwayJulianna on tumblr for the prompt "This is why we can't have nice things" ^^


	5. Nightfall (Ayame x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shigure sneaks into Ayame's room the night before their high school graduation. Pining ensues. For an anon with the dialogue prompt "It's three in the morning."

He hasn’t done this since they were kids, but on the eve of their high school graduation, Shigure starts pelting Ayame’s window with pebbles like some asshole in a John Hughes movie. 

“Shigure,” Ayame hisses. “You are going to wake up my parents and they are going to assassinate me. And I am too beautiful to die tragically young.” 

“Assassination is only for important political figures,” Shigure whisper-yells from the ground. 

“Do you know what time it is?” 

“Can I come up?” 

“It’s three in the morning.” 

“I’m coming up.” 

And Ayame is surprised that even after all this time, Shigure climbs the tree next to his window effortlessly, like he didn’t stop once they entered middle school. “Hello, my clandestine lover,” Shigure teases. 

“Of course I’m elated to see you, my beloved,” Ayame ribs in return, pulling Shigure into his bedroom. He hopes it’s too dark to see the faint blush he knows is painting his cheekbones. “But what are you doing here?” 

“Couldn’t sleep,” Shigure says, shaking leaves out of his hair. “Too excited.” 

“Are you sure you’re not a golden retriever?” 

“Hilarious, Aya. You’re hilarious.” 

“I need to go to bed,” Ayame says. “I have to give a speech in the morning and I refuse to do it with bags under my eyes.” 

“Your skincare routine is fool-proof,” Shigure says, waving him aside. “You’ll never have another dark circle as long as you live, I swear.” 

Ayame rolls his eyes. He’s sure he’d be able to come up with some clever jab, but it’s the middle of the night and for all his banter, he really does need his beauty sleep. “Come to bed,” he offers, flopping down on his bed and shoving half a dozen decorative pillows to the floor to make room for Shigure. 

Shigure wraps his arms around Ayame’s waist, looking up at him with literal puppydog eyes. “The real world won’t know what hit it,” he says. 

“Tell me about it,” Ayame says. He closes his eyes, but doesn’t sleep. He listens as Shigure tells him about all of the things they’re going to accomplish - with occasional guest appearances by Hatori - and all the trouble they’re going to cause after they leave high school tomorrow. 

Ayame tries not to move, tries not to even breathe too heavily with Shigure curled into his side. 

Somewhere along the way, being in love with him stopped being a joke.


	6. Approximal (Yuki x Kakeru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki. Kakeru. Close Quarters.

“Yun-yun!” a hushed voice cries from the end of the hallway. “Yun-yun! Mr. President!” 

If Yuki rolls his eyes any harder, he’s going to give himself a headache. He doesn’t change his pace as he makes his way to the end of the hall, even though Kakeru is starting to draw attention to himself. 

“Why are you whispering?” Yuki asks finally once he’s standing in front of him. 

“I’m on the run from the law,” Kakeru hisses, his eyes darting up and down the hallway. 

“What?” 

“Machi’s mad at me.” 

“What did you do?” 

“Irrelevant!” he dismisses Yuki with a wave of his hand. “Shit!” 

Yuki turns to see Machi starting down the hall in their direction. Kakeru grabs him by the wrist and yanks him bodily into a broom cupboard. 

It’s a good thing Kakeru isn’t a girl, because Yuki would be a rat by now. They’re pressed chest-to-chest, Kakeru’s hand still wrapped around Yuki’s wrist. 

Kakeru laughs lowly. “Well, isn’t this romantic.” Yuki stiffens and pulls his arm away. “Is there something wrong?” Kakeru asks. 

“You shouldn’t say things like that if you don’t mean them.” 

“What?” In the low light, Yuki can see Kakeru blinking at him incredulously. 

“I think you heard me,” Yuki says. He’d cross his arms, but there’s no room in the closet. 

“Did you - you think I - damn it,” Kakeru sighs. “I’m going to try really hard not to fuck this up.” 

“Huh?” 

There’s not much distance to close between them, but Kakeru does, clumsily fitting their lips together in the dark. 

Yuki is too stunned to move for a moment, and Kakeru breaks away. 

“Uh, Yuki?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Did you hate that, or are you going to kiss me back?” 

In answer, Yuki leans forward to kiss him, and Kakeru cups his chin in an uncharacteristically gentle hand. 

The light streams in when Machi throws open the door. The two of them shoot apart, as much as they can in such a confined space. 

Yuki has enough feline tendencies in his life with Kyo, thank you very much, but Kakeru looks for all the world like the cat that just ate the canary. 

“Aha, you found me!” he says, giving Machi awkward finger guns. 

“You’re late for our meeting,” Machi says, graciously ignoring the compromising position and their twin blushes.

“Thank you, Madam Treasurer!” Kakeru says with an over-the-top salute. 

As soon as Machi’s gone, he links his pinky with Yuki’s, and they walk like that all the way to the council room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by anonymous with the prompt "Why are you whispering?"


	7. Escape (Yuki x Haru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru finds Yuki out in the middle of the night and promises to fix his problems.

Hatsuharu knows what he’s doing awake at this hour, wandering the empty avenues of the Sohma estate. 

But why is Yuki up? 

Haru sees him hunched over in the sand of Akito’s garden, his arms wrapped around his torso. 

He’s going to catch a cold. 

Haru unzips his jacket, draping it over Yuki’s shoulders. Yuki flinches like he’s been hit. 

“It’s just me,” Haru murmurs, kneeling down next to him. “Yuki?” 

Yuki looks at him, shivering, and Haru can’t tell if it’s from the chill or something else. Last summer, Haru and Rin marathoned the bloodiest horror movies they could find for three days straight, and Yuki’s vacant eyes right now might still be the scariest thing he’s ever seen. 

Yuki reaches out and grips the hem of Haru’s shirt, clinging to it with white knuckles. 

“What are you doing out here?” Haru asks. He checks his watch. “It’s three in the morning.” 

“Akito is asleep,” Yuki breathes at last. “I had to get out.” 

“You’ll get sick out here in the cold.” 

“I don’t care. Just let me die.” Yuki slumps forward, and Haru strokes his hair gently. 

“You don’t mean that,” he murmurs. 

“I do,” Yuki says, and when he looks back at Haru his eyes are sharp and clear. He lets out a gasp when Haru pulls him into a hug. 

“It’ll be okay,” Haru says. He pats Yuki’s back through his own jacket, and holds him up when Yuki collapses against him, sniffling into his shoulder. “I’ll fix it, okay? I promise. I’ll fix it.” He repeats it like a prayer, like a sacred oath. And it is. 

Haru holds Yuki like that in the sand of the zen garden until Yuki relaxes against him, half-asleep. 

After hauling him to his room, Haru tucks Yuki into bed like he’s a little kid, pinning a gentle kiss to his forehead before he leaves. 

He’ll talk to Shigure in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by anonymous with the prompt "It's three in the morning."


	8. Expectant (Shigure x Akito)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're not making any progress on the nursery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for manga spoilers~  
> requested by anonymous with the prompt "remember when you used to care?"

They’re possibly the two worst adults in the long and storied history of adulthood. Shigure plays with Akito’s hair as the two of them sit in the discarded bones of what should be a baby crib. 

“This could have worked out better,” he says. “I think we managed to lose every single screw.” 

“I told you we should have called Tohru,” Akito says evenly. “You know how excited she is to help with the nursery.” 

“We’ll recruit her to help out when we paint the walls,” Shigure decides. He can see it now - her sleeves rolled up, hair pulled back, adorable look of determination, reluctant husband in tow. “Speaking of - what color are you thinking?” 

Akito shrugs. “Blue? Green, maybe?” 

“You’re so sure it’s a boy.” 

“A mother’s intuition,” she deadpans.

“What about yellow? A little more feminine, in case we have a little princess on our hands.”

“That’s fine,” Akito says. “I don’t really care, as long as the walls get painted and the crib gets put together.” She nudges one of the scattered pieces toward him with her foot. 

“Remember when you used to care?” Shigure murmurs, brushing a strand of hair out of her face to kiss her in that soft spot just below her ear. “You cared so much, and everything had to be just so?” 

“I’ve got you,” Akito says. “I’ve got him. The details are irrelevant.” 

He brushes a hand over her stomach, looking up at her in awe when he feels their baby kick. 

Irrelevant, indeed.


	9. Engaged (Kyo x Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyo asks a question. Tohru gives an answer.

She’s in the kitchen. She’s cooking fish. She’s humming off-key to the song they keep hearing on the radio. 

It hits Kyo all over again, like a cartoon anvil falling from the sky. 

He is in love with her.

He is in love with her like he needs oxygen to breathe, in love with her like his heart pumps blood through his veins, in love with her like he’s never known anything else. 

“Tohru,” he says. 

She spins around to face him, a worried line appearing on her forehead. “Kyo? Is something wrong?”

He had a plan. He had workshopped it with Hana and Uo. He had even, embarrassingly, practiced with Yuki. He had developed a roadmap. 

But now, Kyo is moving into uncharted territory. 

“Are you alright?” she asks. 

He takes a deep breath before answering, suddenly seized with inexplicable anxiety. What if she says no? asks the little part of his brain that still thinks he’s going to end up confined in the cat’s room. What if she says no? “I don’t want to screw this up,” he says at last. 

“Huh?” 

He takes her hand in his, shaking slightly. 

“What is it?” she asks, and her voice is so soft he could almost be imagining it. 

“I love you,” he says. 

“I love you too, Kyo.” Tohru smiles, bringing up a hand to caress his cheek. 

“No, I - I love you. And I was wondering - I was hoping… Tohru, will you marry me?” 

She’s silent for a moment, blinking in surprise. “Of course,” she says at last. Then, as it hits her, “yes, of course I will, Kyo!” Tohru throws her arms around his neck, laughing breathlessly. “We’re getting married!” she cries, as though there had ever been a question, as though it was ever up for debate, as though she wasn’t already positive they were soulmates. 

Kyo sweeps Tohru off her feet. The fish burns. Nothing else matters. 

He’s going to be her husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "I don't want to screw this up" for anonymous.


	10. Comfort (Hatori x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shigure seeks Hatori out post-Kana.

“I thought you quit,” Shigure says, nodding at the lit cigarette between Hatori’s lips. He sits down next to him on the stoop. “‘That shit’ll kill you.’ Isn’t that what you said when I started smoking?” 

“Will you shut up?” Hatori snaps. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”

Shigure holds up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. Just making conversation.”

Hatori sighs deeply, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be, I’m incredibly irritating.” 

This almost earns Shigure a laugh. Not quite, but almost is a better record than he’s had as of late. 

“How’s your eye?” he asks at last. It’s still bandaged, and he can see the nasty edge of a bruise peeking out from beneath the gauze. 

“Still blind,” Hatori says flatly. He shoots Shigure a glare with his good eye. 

“You’re charming.” 

“Why are you here?” Hatori asks. “You’re giving me a headache, and I have work to get done today.” 

Shigure considers, shrugs. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

“Well, I’m not. Are you satisfied? Can you leave me be?” Hatori snubs his cigarette out on the steps with a vengeance. 

“You should know me better than that by now,” Shigure says. 

“Why am I exclusively friends with children?” 

“I think my purity and innocence is a big draw, honestly.” 

“You’re impossible.”

“And you don’t want to be left alone, even though you’re trying to make me leave,” Shigure points out. 

Hatori doesn’t argue. Either it’s true, or he’s given up. 

“C’mere.” Shigure wraps his arm around Hatori and pulls him in closer. 

Hatori lets himself rest his head on Shigure’s shoulder and pretends that someday, winter will pass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "I don't owe you an explanation" for anon on tumblr.


	11. Whereabouts (Platonic? Kyo & Kakeru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyo meets the vice president.

With two hours left of the culture festival, the third-years are in a bind - they’re nearly out of rice balls. 

“I don’t understand. I made twice as many as we had last year,” Tohru says, a perplexed hand pressed to her forehead. “I think we still have some supplies in the home ec room, I’ll go make some more!” 

“I’ll go.” Kyo’s rice balls won’t be as good, sure, but Tohru is definitely better at the interpersonal communications side of the gig. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I can handle it,” he promises, and he slips out into the empty hallway. 

The home ec room is quiet and unoccupied, and Kyo quickly falls into a rhythm making the rice balls. He’s yanked from his reverie when the door whips open and another third year collapses against it inside. 

“Oh hey!” he says. He saunters up to Kyo, planting his elbows on the counter. “You’re Yun-Yun’s cousin, right?” 

Kyo wrinkles his nose. “Who?”

“Oh right, I forgot that’s kind of my own personal nickname for him. Yuki Sohma.” 

“Oh. Yeah.” Kyo resists the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, he and Yuki aren’t quite as hostile as they used to be, but he’s kind of annoyed at how chummy this guy is behaving. 

“Not quite as chatty as the pres,” Kakeru notices. “But,” and he leans in, resting his chin in his hands while he looks over at Kyo, “almost as pretty.” 

“Pretty?” Kyo sputters. 

“Mhmm,” Kakeru says. “Good bone structure must run in your family. I could cut glass with that jawline.” 

“That’s a weird thing to say to someone,” Kyo tells him, and he feels himself start to flush. 

“I’ve said weirder,” Kakeru assures him. 

“Well if you’re going to stand there annoying me, you might as well help with the rice balls.” Kyo shoves a bowl of rice in Kakeru’s general direction. 

“Oh no, I can’t cook. And anyway, I’m just here to establish an alibi,” Kakeru says. 

“What?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” He waves a hand dismissively. “You’re a third year right?” 

“Yeah.”

“Weird that we’ve never had any classes together.” 

“I guess.” 

“Man, you’re making Yun-Yun look like a real chatterbox.” 

“Cool.” 

No doubt Kakeru would continue babbling, but he’s interrupted by a series of small explosions outside. He swaggers to the window, looking out into the courtyard below. “Heh. Someone set off fireworks,” he says. He looks to Kyo for a moment, a sly grin tugging at his lips like they’re sharing a secret. 

The door explodes open almost as loudly as the fireworks. “Manabe!” Yuki is standing in the threshold looking like some kind of avenging angel. “Do you want to explain?” 

Kakeru feigns innocence, but Kyo thinks looking like a delinquent is just baked into Kakeru’s DNA. “What do you mean, Yun-Yun?”

“Why are there fireworks? We agreed no fireworks!” 

“You agreed no fireworks,” Kakeru corrects. “And quite frankly, it wounds me that you would suggest that I’m involved. I’ve been here this entire time!” Kakeru protests. “Right, Kyo?” 

At this, Yuki seems to notice Kyo for the first time, his hands frozen around a half-formed onigiri. Kyo really doesn’t know whether or not he’s going to throw Kakeru under the bus until he’s speaking. “Uh. Yeah.” 

Yuki frowns, looking back and forth between Kyo and Kakeru. “Come on, Manabe,” Yuki says, grabbing him by the wrist. “We should go investigate.”

“See you around, Kyo!”

And as he leaves, Kakeru tosses a wink over his shoulder. 

Kyo finishes the rice balls in blessed silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "I'm just here to establish an alibi" for DrGeoDuck on tumblr. ^^


	12. Inebriated (Hatori x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drunk and angry, Shigure seeks Hatori out.

Shigure is drunk. 

He’s not a drinker, not usually, but he’s on Hatori’s porch, bottle still in hand, and he is goddamn _belligerent_. 

Hatori flings open the door to his house, his hair rumpled from sleep, looking like he’s ready to commit a murder. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” 

“Did you know?” Shigure grabs Hatori by the collar of his silk pajamas. “Hatori! Did you know?” 

“Know what?” Hatori asks, swatting Shigure’s hands away. 

“Did you know about Kureno,” Shigure spits, “and Akito?” 

Even half-asleep, Hatori puts the pieces together. “No, Shigure. I didn’t know. Of course I didn’t know.” 

Shigure starts swearing loudly, and Hatori claps a hand over his mouth. “You are going to wake the entire estate,” he seethes. When Shigure licks his hand - apparently they’re nine years old again? - Hatori releases him. “Disgusting. Come inside.” 

Shigure flops down onto Hatori’s couch. Gently, Hatori pries the bottle of booze from his hand. At first Shigure resists, but he finally relents and sinks deeper into the cushions. Hatori dumps out the bottle in the sink and returns a few minutes later with two mugs of tea. 

“Drink it,” he demands. 

Shigure rolls his eyes, but drinks his tea regardless. After a few moments, he stops shaking and his breathing evens out, but his stare is still distant. 

“What are you going to do?” Hatori asks after a while, taking a sip of his own tea. 

“Something stupid, probably.” 

“Naturally,” Hatori concedes. “And I don’t imagine I can talk you out of it?” 

“Not a chance.” 

“Alright. Just... try to be mindful of the consequences, would you?”   
“No promises,” Shigure says. 

“You’re impossible,” Hatori chides. 

When Hatori shifts to set his now-empty teacup on the table, Shigure clutches at his sleeve desperately, looking for all the world like a little kid. “Don’t leave,” he says. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Okay,” Shigure says. And he finally lets go, smoothing out the wrinkles. “Good.” He sets his own cup down, then curls up with his head in Hatori’s lap. It really does feel like they’re kids again. 

Hatori heaves a deep sigh. He had really hoped he’d be able to go back to bed at some point, and he’s going to need a damn caffeine IV in the morning. 

A small price to pay, he supposes. 

He curls a hand in Shigure’s hair. And he doesn’t leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by anonymous with the prompt "I'm not going anywhere"


	13. Hubris (Yuki x Kyo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dare goes wrong.

“Do you still have your reflexes?” Yuki blurts out. It might be a little rude, he thinks after the fact, but there’s not exactly an accepted etiquette standard for inappropriate questions to ask after the curse that possessed you with a zodiac spirit has been broken. 

“What?” Kyo looks baffled, sprawled out on the roof in the fading twilight. 

“Nothing, it’s stupid.” 

“Did you just ask if I still have my cat reflexes?” 

“No,” Yuki says too quickly, but his blush gives him away. He sighs. “Maybe.” 

“Of course I do,” Kyo says. But then he furrows his brow. “I think.” 

“You think?”

“I don’t know. I guess I assume I’ve still got the agility and stuff, you know?” He’s looking genuinely perplexed now. Had he really not thought about it before?

“Prove it,” Yuki says, that almost-antagonistic edge creeping back into his voice. “I bet you can’t land on your feet.” 

“Watch me,” Kyo says with a smirk, sitting up with a sharp glint in his eye. 

He strides to the edge of the roof and looks down. He’s made this jump before. Child’s play. 

Except that it isn’t. 

Maybe it’s the fact that he can feel Yuki’s eyes on him. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a little out of practice, because he hasn’t really felt the need to do anything like this in a while, even before the curse broke. Maybe he really isn’t quite as cat-like as he used to be. 

It’s not as easy as he remembers. 

“Shit,” he mumbles, still crouched on the ground. The second he’s up and moving, Yuki will know. He probably does already.

Sure enough, Yuki is in front of him moments after he hits the ground. He kneels down, doing his level best to look more concerned than amused. 

“What is it?” Yuki asks. 

“Ankle.” Kyo takes a deep breath, then stands. It’s not that bad, really, but he wobbles a bit and _oh no_ , putting his weight on it is definitely a bad idea. 

“Stupid,” Yuki chides, wrapping an arm around Kyo’s waist to hold him up. “Come on.” 

Yuki helps Kyo inside, then tosses him a bag of frozen vegetables. He steps out to call Hatori, leaving Kyo alone with the cold peas. 

“He says it’s probably just a sprain,” Yuki says, pulling out the first aid kit. “Let me wrap it for you.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” His cheeks are burning, but he lets Yuki examine his ankle. It stings, but Yuki’s fingers are light and his hands are gentle. 

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” he asks, wide-eyed, when Kyo winces. 

“It’s fine,” Kyo says. “Just… hurry up, okay?” 

Yuki deftly finishes the rest of the wrapping, then realizes his hands are still hovering over Kyo’s ankle. “Sorry,” he murmurs, pulling out a cushion to elevate it. 

“Hey,” Kyo says firmly. “Yuki.” 

“Yes?” 

“Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "Watch me" for an anonymous tumblr user.


	14. Dialogue (Yuki x Tohru x Kyo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discussion takes place.

Kyo won’t look at Tohru. Tohru won’t look at Kyo. 

Neither one of them will look at Yuki. 

“We need to talk about last night,” Yuki says nonchalantly, snapping his chopsticks apart.

“It won’t happen again,” Tohru blurts out, still not looking up. She’s gripping fistfuls of her skirt for dear life. “It was - it was just a reckless, one-time thing, and we’re very sorry.” 

Kyo jerks his chin in a sharp nod of agreement. 

“Does it have to be?” Yuki asks, still trying his hardest to keep his voice even. 

“Huh?” At this, Tohru looks up, perplexed. Kyo, too, shoots Yuki a baffled look. 

“Does it have to be a one-time thing?” 

“Oh, well, I…” Tohru trails off, as though she hadn’t considered the possibility. 

“I enjoyed it,” Yuki says, and he’s starting to blush despite his best efforts. “And it seems like you both did too.” 

Kyo lets out a choked sound and Tohru flushes a whole new shade of scarlet. 

“Am I wrong?” Yuki asks. 

“N-no,” Tohru manages. “It was… It was really nice.” 

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Kyo tells him at last. 

“Neither have I,” Yuki says. 

“But I think,” Kyo pauses to take a deep breath, “if it’s something we all want, we can make it work.” 

“I’d like that.” Tohru is looking at the floor again. “I care about both of you so much,” she adds. 

“I care about you too.” Yuki moves to her side to brush a tear from her cheek. On her other side, Kyo takes Tohru’s hand. “And I tolerate you,” Yuki says to Kyo. Given where they started, it’s practically a declaration of his eternal affection. 

“Likewise,” Kyo says gruffly. His own confession of undying love. 

“Well,” Yuki says evenly, returning to his meal, “I hope neither of you have plans for after dinner.” 

Tohru stammers nervously and Kyo practically chokes on his soup. 

And Yuki has never been more in love with both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "We need to talk about last night" for anon on tumblr.


	15. Confined (Kureno & Kyo)

The cat’s room is dark. 

It’s dark. And it’s cold. And the roof leaks when it’s raining, as if to add insult to injury. 

Kyo is lucky Kazuma encouraged him to practice meditation. It’s the only way he’s staying sane. 

It’s not too difficult, he tells himself sometimes, he just can’t think too hard. Ever. About anything. His past, his future, his friends. 

His friends. They’re not supposed to visit, but sometimes they do anyway. 

Hatsuharu passes him books through the slats of his cell while Rin looks on, blazing with righteous fury. Kagura cooks for him from time to time, though she always acts like she just happened to have leftovers of his favorite meals. Sometimes Momiji stands outside his window and plays the violin and the fact that no one can see Kyo cry is a small comfort. 

Yuki spirited Tohru inside, once, under cover of darkness and with Hatsuharu causing a distraction. It was almost too much for either of them to bear, so now Yuki only comes by himself. 

Even Shigure has paused before him under the guise of checking in for Akito. Kyo had nearly cussed him out, then, especially as he started to leave for the main house to do the family head’s bidding. Shigure had let him swear until he was out of breath, then offered him a sad smile before he went. 

This time when the door opens, a new visitor approaches. Kyo can only make out a vague outline, silhouetted in the doorway like a specter. 

“Kureno?” Kyo asks, squinting as his eyes adjust to the light. 

“Hi, Kyo,” Kureno says. And then, after an awkward pause, “How are you?” 

Kyo sits back against the cold stone of the wall. “If you’re just going to mock me, then leave.” 

“Right. That was probably a silly question.” Kureno digs around in his pocket, finally finding what he’s looking for. It’s too dark for Kyo to see what it is, but then Kureno steps closer. 

It’s a key.

“What are you doing?” 

Kureno looks at him, perplexed. “I’m letting you out?” 

“What?” Kyo scrambles to his feet, gripping the bars. 

“Unless you want to stay here?” Kureno looks increasingly more confused. 

“No.” Kyo shakes his head empathetically, then grabs the sleeve of Kureno’s jacket. “Please.” 

“Alright.” He fits the key into the lock. When the cell door swings open, Kyo resists the urge to pull him into a hug. Kureno hands him a backpack. “That should have everything you need.”

Kyo doesn’t speak. He should pinch himself. It’s probably a weird fever dream or something. “Why are you helping me?” he asks at last, slinging the backpack over his shoulders. 

“Because I know what it’s like to be trapped,” Kureno says simply.

And he leaves Kyo there, his cage unlocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For megagingertron on tumblr with the prompt "Why are you helping me?"


	16. Fastener (Kyo & Kakeru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyo is locked out. Kakeru is a nerd.

Standing in the empty halls of Kaibara, Kyo Sohma is aware of a few key facts: 

1\. He needs his textbook. 

2\. His textbook is in the classroom. 

3\. The classroom door is locked. 

4\. He _really_ needs his textbook. 

His options are limited and he has to study for this physics test tomorrow or he’s properly fucked. Craning his neck to make sure no teachers are still milling around, he weighs the pros and cons of breaking the window and unlocking the door that way. 

Pros: He could get his textbook out of the classroom. 

Cons: _Literally_ everything else, why would he even consider that? 

Kyo is racking his brains for a solution when he hears someone whistling. None of the teachers would be chipper enough to whistle like that, so it has to be a student. He tries to look casual while he waits for them to round the corner. 

It’s Kakeru fucking Manabe. 

The chances that Kakeru fucking Manabe is going to be Kyo’s salvation are slim to none. 

But Kakeru stops in front of him anyway, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Hey, Kyon-Kyon! How’s it going?” 

Kyo could absolutely throttle Hiroshi and Yusuke; he hates that the nickname is catching on outside of 2-D. 

“Hey, Manabe,” he says. What he means is leave me the fuck alone. 

Wait. Hold on. 

“Hey, you’re in the student council, right?” 

“Am I _in_ the student council? You’re looking at the student council vice president, my friend. Second in command.” 

“Do you have a key to the classroom?” 

“I think you’re confusing me with a teacher,” Kakeru says. “Why? Are you planning a heist?” 

“No,” Kyo snorts. “I left my textbook in there and I need to study.”

“Well, it’s your lucky day,” Kakeru says. “I know how to pick a lock.” 

“Really?” 

Kakeru fishes around in his pocket, yanking out a paperclip. “Yeah. I taught myself last summer after I watched Dexter,” he says casually, pressing his ear to the door and jiggling the paperclip. He punches the air when the doorknob gives, swinging the door open. “Sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy.” 

When he offers Kyo his fist to bump, Kyo has no choice but to accept. 

“Thanks. I really owe you one,” Kyo says. He crosses the dark classroom and snatches his textbook from his desk. 

“It’s fine,” Kakeru says, dramatically backlit in the classroom door. “You can just buy me dinner sometime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "Sometimes, being a nerd comes in handy" for anonymous on tumblr.


	17. Awake (Kyo x Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyo's not the only one in the house who has nightmares.

He’s walking to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face when Kyo notices that Tohru’s bedroom light is on. Lightly, so as not to disturb her if she happens to be asleep in the fully-lit room (wouldn’t be the first time) he raps his knuckles against the door. 

“Tohru?” 

It only takes a moment for her to open the door for him. “Kyo?” 

“It’s three in the morning. What are you doing awake?” He supposes Tohru could ask him the same question, but she doesn’t press the issue. 

“I couldn’t sleep so I was reading.” She’s still holding the book - one of Shigure’s, Kyo notes, dismayed. “Are you alright? You’re trembling.”

“Huh?” For a moment, he had forgotten what he was doing wandering around the house at this hour in the first place. “Oh. It’s not a big deal.”

Tohru leans in closer. “Did you have a nightmare?” 

“Yeah, I guess.”

With the hand not holding the cursed book, she grabs his and squeezes. “Me too,” she tells him. 

“Couldn’t get back to sleep,” he grumbles. 

“Come in,” she says, and she’s so adorable he can’t resist when she yanks him across the threshold. 

Tohru sits down in her bed, then pats the empty space next to her. Her cheeks start to redden as she realizes the implication, but Kyo sits anyway, trying to tamp down his own impending blush. 

“It’s nice to sit with someone when I feel like this,” she says. And he realizes that she’s not just offering to stay with him, she’s asking him to stay with her. 

Kyo takes a deep breath, hoping his heart doesn’t jump directly out of his body through his ribcage. “Why are you reading that anyway?” he asks, gesturing to Shigure’s book. 

“It’s very good,” she says by way of an answer. “Not what I expected.” 

She doesn’t elaborate; he doesn’t ask her to. 

They chat for a while, until Tohru gradually sinks into the mattress, her eyes drooping. “I think I’m falling asleep,” she murmurs, watching him through her eyelashes. 

Kyo turns off her light and sits back down next to her. “Then sleep,” he tells her. “It’s alright.” 

She nods at him blearily, grabbing his hand and holding it against her chest. “Goodnight.” 

Kyo doesn’t even mean to, truly, but he ends up drifting off for a few hours. He slips away to his own room while Tohru is still asleep, hours before she can wake up and freak out about the fact that they shared a bed. Before he goes, he allows himself a moment of indulgence, dusting her knuckles with a gentle kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double prompts! Written for "you're trembling" and "it's three in the morning" for an anon.


	18. Stray (Kyo x Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tohru takes in a stray. Kyo is not amused.

“You didn’t.”

“I did.” 

“Tohru,” Kyo chides. “We talked about this.” 

She looks at him with wide, doleful eyes. “But he’s so cute,” she says, holding up the mangy street cat. 

“This is why we can’t have nice things.” 

“Can we keep him?” she begs. 

He wants to say no. He wants to pry the cat gently from her hands and toss it back out into the street. It probably has fleas, for God’s sake. 

What he says instead, through gritted teeth, is “Come on. Let’s give it a bath.” 

She squeals and bounces on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Kyo!”

The cat isn’t thrilled about the bath, but it doesn’t scratch or hiss as Tohru dunks it in the water and works the mats out of its fur, either. 

Kyo sits on the floor next to her, glaring at the cat when she’s not looking. He swears it glares back. 

But he’s not, like, jealous or anything though. That would be silly. 

He even helps Tohru dry the cat with a hairdryer after its bath. Once it’s clean, it doesn’t look quite as grumpy. 

Way too skinny, though. Maybe he’ll fry up an extra piece of fish with dinner. It’s not like he wants the damn thing to starve. 

“What are you going to name it?” he asks Tohru, her hands buried blissfully in the cat’s now-silky fur. 

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it,” she says. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” 

Of course she hadn’t thought about it. She was too preoccupied with rescuing it and making sure it was warm and fed. Speaking of fed. 

“Here,” he says gruffly, setting a piece of fish down on the floor in front of the cat.   
The cat nibbles the fish, then nuzzles up against Kyo’s hand. 

“He likes you,” Tohru croons. 

Kyo hasn’t missed cats. For a solid month of junior high, a herd of them had followed him home from school every single day. After that, he had tried to keep his distance and mind his business. 

But this one might be alright, if they absolutely have to have a cat. 

After feasting on Kyo’s fish, the cat explores their little apartment. Kyo can almost see literal hearts in Tohru’s eyes as she watches it dart from corner to corner. 

Geez. If she’s practically blubbering over an alleycat, what’s she going to be like when they have kids? 

It’s a strange adjustment, going about their evening with a little feline traipsing around like it owns the place. 

But to her credit, Tohru doesn’t say a word when Kyo falls asleep with the cat curled up on his shoulder. 

It still doesn’t mean he likes the thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "This is why we can't have nice things" for anon.


	19. Childcare (Platonic Kisa & Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kisa babysits. She's an actual angel.

Tohru Honda loves her family. 

This is, perhaps, an understatement. It would be difficult to find any woman in history who loved her husband and child more than Tohru loves Hajime and Kyo. 

That doesn’t mean they don’t test her sometimes. 

Hajime hasn’t been sleeping. He crawls into their bed at odd hours, playing in Tohru’s ribbons and generally wreaking havoc, as toddlers do. She’s started dreading bedtime; when he cries, she cries, and poor Kyo can’t handle both of them crying at once, though he makes a noble effort. 

Tohru braces herself outside of the apartment; dinner with her friends had been incredibly rejuvenating, and she’s going to try to go into the rest of her night with a positive attitude in the hopes that Hajime responds in kind. 

She doesn’t need to. 

Kisa Sohma is a miracle worker. 

There’s no other explanation. 

“Kisa,” Tohru breathes. “How did you do it?” 

Hajime is curled up asleep, his little form wrapped around a pillow, a blanket draped angelically over his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry?” Kisa asks. 

“How did you get him to sleep?” Tohru almost reaches out to touch him, but thinks better of it. Best not to try her luck. 

“Oh! We read Mogeta,” Kisa says cheerfully. 

“Really?” 

“He loved it. Sometimes being a huge nerd comes in handy,” she adds sheepishly.

Tohru pulls Kisa into a hug. “You’re an angel.” 

“I’m just happy I could help.” 

“Would you like some tea before you go?” Tohru asks. With Kisa in college and Tohru dealing with a toddler, she’s a little reluctant to let her leave before they have at least a few moments to catch up. She starts the kettle without waiting for a reply. 

Kisa checks her watch. “That sounds really nice. I’m going to the movies with Hiro later, but I should have time.” 

Tohru practically melts. “You two have been together a long time,” she says pointedly.

“I suppose,” Kisa says, a blush creeping into her cheeks. 

_Is that what I looked like?_ Tohru wonders. Flushed and shy and so obviously in love? Then she thinks, _Isn’t a little late for a movie? Don’t they have a bedtime? Am I just getting old?_

She slides Kisa a mug of tea, then blows on her own to cool it down. “I’m rooting for you,” she says. “I think you bring out the best in each other.” 

“I’ve always thought that about you and Kyo,” Kisa says, and she’s blushing again. “You two have always sort of been role models for us.” 

And when Tohru cries and throws her arm around Kisa like a big sister would, she feels like she’s seventeen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "sometimes being a huge nerd comes in handy" for tumblr anon~


	20. Confession (Hiro x Kisa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro struggles to find his voice.

It shouldn’t be this hard. 

At this point, Hiro thinks if he didn’t have Kisa by his side, it would be like losing a limb. Or a lung. 

Hell, they’ve been together since they were kids. Together. 

Wait. 

They are together, right? Like, dating together? Hiro suddenly feels he’s picked a really inconvenient time to realize that he hasn’t ever actually asked Kisa out on a date using the words “will you go on a date with me?” 

They watch movies together. They eat together. Those are dates, right? 

He’s trying - really, properly trying - to force the words out. It’s not like he doesn’t want to say them. (Maybe he wants to say them too much.) 

“Hiro,” Kisa says, reaching out to cup his cheek. “Why are you whispering?” 

He tries to take a deep breath but it snags in his ribcage. 

“Are you okay?” Kisa asks. 

“Yeah,” Hiro says, but he’s still barely speaking. He clears his throat. “I’m fine.” 

“Is your family alright?” 

“Yeah,” he says, only slightly louder. “They’re fine too.” 

“Then what did you want to talk about?” She tilts his chin so she can look him in the eye. 

“It’s nothing,” he says. “Where do you want to eat?” He turns away from her grasp and practically leaps from the park bench, starting off in the direction of the shopping center. He slows down when he remembers that her legs are much shorter than his now, and it’ll take her a moment to catch up. 

“Hey,” Kisa says, catching his hand and pulling her back toward her. “I want to talk about whatever is bothering you.” She’s uncharacteristically firm, but she’s still gentle, and he’s so in love with her it hurts. 

“I love you,” his mouth says before his mind can stop it. Hiro grips Kisa’s hands in his own like he’s afraid she’ll float away. 

He’s not expecting her to laugh at him. “Oh, Hiro, was that it? I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for an anon with the prompt "why are you whispering?"


	21. Polaris (Platonic Kyo & Kisa)

Kyo is in the backyard, soaking in the last bit of evening sun, when Kisa joins him.

“Hi, Kyo,” she says, sitting down next to him and tilting her chin skyward. 

“Tohru is working tonight, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you went up to her room.” 

“That’s alright,” she says. “It’s nice out here.” 

She’s right. 

The air is starting to warm with the first suggestion of spring; Kyo’s got on a jacket but he wouldn’t necessarily need it, and the grass feels pleasant under his bare feet. When he closes his eyes, his eyelids are lit orange against the fading golden rays. It would’ve been a nice evening to go up onto the roof and watch the sunset, but he’s been meaning to ask Tohru if she’d like to join him and he needs to wait until she has a night off. 

“What are you thinking about?” Kisa asks him at last. 

“Huh?” 

“Oh,” she says, suddenly shy again. “You were smiling. I was just wondering what you were thinking about.” 

Kyo feels his cheeks heat up and there’s no way he’s been outside long enough to be sunburnt. “Nothing.”

It occurs to him that this might be the wrong answer when Kisa turns away to stare at the ground. “Oh, alright.” 

“I was just thinking that the sunset is nice,” Kyo tells her. 

“I think so too,” she says. 

And maybe it’s just a sense of feline camaraderie, but he asks, “Would you like to see it from the roof?” 

Kyo makes sure Kisa doesn’t fall climbing up, and the two of them climb up to watch the sunset from his usual haunt. 

When Tohru arrives after work, she finds them there, still on top of the house. Kyo is listing off the names of all the celestial bodies and constellations he knows. 

“And that one’s the north star,” he tells Kisa. “So you never lose your way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "what are you thinking about?" for anon on tumblr


	22. Commencement (Machi x Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Machi has something to say before Tohru leaves.

Kaibara High is in mourning. 

In just a few short hours, the school will lose its most precious pupil. The first and second year girls have threaded their hair with black ribbons, and some of them have even painted their nails to match. 

It’s all very dramatic. 

Machi doesn’t understand. It’s not like Yuki’s dead. He’s just graduating. 

She never bothered to join the Prince Yuki Fan Club; he’s her friend and it would be weird. Besides, Machi considers herself part of a much smaller organization. 

Only, it doesn’t revolve around Yuki. 

And one person doesn’t exactly constitute a club. 

And she’s not sure if “fan” is the right word either. 

Anyway, If there are other Individual Tohru Honda Admirers lurking the halls of her high school, they’re largely keeping to themselves. 

That’s fine by Machi. 

Tohru is alone, observing the crowd of graduating students and onlookers from the shade of a tree on the lawn. It seems that Yuki and Tohru’s grumpy orange boyfriend have been roped into a family photo op by Machi’s classmates. 

Machi isn’t bold, but the idea that she’s running out of time propels her forward anyway. 

“Honda-san.” 

Tohru looks over to her, smiling pleasantly. “Yes, Kuragi-san?” 

“I might never get another chance to say this,” Machi says, and she forces herself to break eye contact with the grass to look at Tohru head-on. “I think you’re kind even though you’re sad, and I admire that about you.” 

“Oh!” Tohru blushes scarlet. “Thank you. That’s very sweet, Kuragi-san.” 

“And I think you’re really pretty,” Machi adds, admittedly a little proud of herself for only stumbling over her words slightly. 

Tohru is about to respond, but she’s enveloped by a small herd of Sohmas. Momiji is crooning, Kyo is scowling, Hatsuharu is staring and Yuki is trying to keep them all under control. 

In the din, Machi slips away, leaving Tohru to hold court.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for jujyfru1t on tumblr for the prompt "I might never get another chance to say this."


	23. Seen (Nao & Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A run-in in the hallway.

Afterward, Nao can’t even remember what exactly annoyed him, only that he’s already pissed off when the girl bumps into him in the hall, spilling her belongings across the floor. 

“Hey space cadet, watch where you’re going!” he seethes. 

She scrambles to pick up her books, babbling apologies as she does. 

“What’s your deal? You don’t see me?”

“I’m so sorry, I must not have been paying attention.” 

“Yeah, well, maybe you should…” Oh. Wow. He looks down at her and he’s really not used to someone focusing so intently on what he has to say. She’s actually, genuinely listening. It’s kind of intimidating. “...be more aware of your surroundings.” 

“You’re right,” she says, still on the floor but suddenly fiercely determined. “I will!” 

“Okay,” he says. “I guess, goodbye, then?” And he’s really not sure why he even feels the need to offer her a polite farewell. 

She finally scrambles to her feet. Is she following him? 

“Can I help you?” he asks sharply. 

“Oh, well, actually, I think we’re going in the same direction!” 

“Right.” If she insists on walking with him, it doesn’t mean Nao has to engage in conversation.

“You’re a secretary on the student council, right?” Apparently the girl has no such reservations about chatting while they walk. 

“Yeah,” he says, and if he was feeling just a degree more bitter, he’d add “and I’m going to be late for my lunch meeting because you practically bowled me over” but he doesn’t. 

“That’s so great. You all work so hard for the school.” 

“Not all of us,” he says. He’s not sure, for example, what the president and VP have done beyond exchange deeply uncomfortable lingering glances.

She doesn’t quite get it, because she says, “I’m sure that’s not true! You seem like a very focused person.”  
“I guess I am,” he says. And he succeeds, for the most part. Though there is his tendency to get absent-minded and tongue-tied whenever he’s within half a mile of Motoko which is, admittedly, a setback. 

“I get distracted too easily,” she tells him, “so I wish I could be more like you.” 

More. 

Like. 

Him?

Nao has never been a role model. He’s never even stopped to consider how his mannerisms are perceived by the people around him, let alone whether or not they’d want to emulate him. It’s kind of a lot of pressure, now that he thinks about it. 

But it’s sort of nice? She thinks he’s focused. She likes that he’s focused. Maybe that’s something other people could find to like about him too. 

They finally reach the student council room, and Nao is too perplexed to offer the girl much in the way of parting words. 

“Chibi-suke!” Kimi croons when he opens the door.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Kakeru teases. 

“Honda-san?” 

“What?” Nao glares at Yuki, but Yuki is looking past him to the girl. 

Oh. This is her. 

“You forgot your lunch,” Tohru says, passing him a bento. 

“Thank you,” Yuki says, and with a smile like that, Nao can begrudgingly admit that he sees why all the girls throw themselves at his feet. 

“And thank you for walking me here, Sakuragi-san,” Tohru tells him. 

She dips into a bow and Nao feels, possibly for the first time, appreciated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for anon with the prompt "you don't see me"


	24. Nuptial (Kyo x Machi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Machi has a proposal (no, not that kind.)

The coffeeshop is not Kyo’s ideal venue. He’s always a little bit on edge in public spaces, and he doesn’t even particularly enjoy coffee, but Machi had texted him out of the blue and he felt weird refusing. 

She’s not exactly on time, but not so late that it’s any major inconvenience. 

“I hope you didn’t wait long,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. 

“I didn’t.”

After studying the menu, Machi babbles something utterly incomprehensible, no doubt ordering a drink with enough sugar and espresso to kill a baby elephant. Kyo settles on green tea. For a brief moment, they’re both scrabbling for their wallets, Machi in her giant cluttered purse and Kyo in the pocket of his jeans. 

He comes up with his first, so he pays. 

“Thanks,” she says, leading him to a table at the front of the coffeeshop, right next to the window. For a moment, she studies the sidewalk outside. Or maybe her own reflection. Kyo can’t tell with any degree of certainty. 

“So,” he says at last, and he’s caught off-guard by the force with which her eyes are studying him now. “There was something you wanted to talk to me about?” 

“Yes. Will you be my date for the wedding?” She’s a little blunt, Kyo thinks, but that was his first impression of her too. He doesn’t hate it. 

But he’s not sure if it’s the best idea, exactly. 

“Look,” Kyo says, running a hand through his hair. “You shouldn’t do things just because you think it’ll make him jealous or get his attention or whatever. I get it, but it’s… it’s not worth it.” 

“That’s not it.” Machi takes a long sip of her coffee. 

“Then what is it?”

Machi sighs. “It just seems that you and I are in a… similar predicament.” 

“I guess,” Kyo says gruffly, and he tries not to think too hard about how embarrassing he must have been while getting drunk with her after the engagement party. Not that he really remembers much of the evening. Which is probably for the best. 

“And I don’t know about you,” she says, “but I don’t want to go by myself, and I’m sure you don’t want to go by yourself either.” 

“You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?” Kyo is impressed, really. He can’t think about the whole thing for more than forty-five seconds without feeling the urge to reach for a stiff drink.

“Of course. And for what it’s worth, I really enjoyed hanging out with you,” Machi says, and something about the cadence of her voice tells Kyo that she actually means it. 

Kyo ducks his head to sip at his tea before she can note the blush taking root. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be your date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for a tumblr anon with the prompt "You've thought about this, haven't you?"


	25. Supermarket (Akito x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Akito is .5 seconds from calling for Shigure over the supermarket PA system.

It’s crowded, cramped, claustrophobic. Akito feels as if the walls are closing in, her hands shaking and her breath labored. She focuses on the display in front of her, reading the prices and reading them again when her brain doesn’t process them the first time around. 

Coming to the supermarket was a bad idea. In Shigure's defense, bad ideas are the only ones he tends to come up with. 

Akito turns to ask him about the cuts of meat they'll need for dinner, but "Do you think I should call Tohru and ask?" dies on her tongue when she sees he isn't next to her anymore. She feels like a turtle overturned on its back, the air sucked out of her lungs. 

"Shigure?" She looks up and down the aisle. _No_ , she thinks sternly when she feels tears start to prickle behind her eyes. _No._ "Shigure!" she calls again, a lost child, crying out. 

He rounds a corner with his basket and a head of lettuce, smiling pleasantly. "Akito," he chastises lightly, taking her hand, "people are staring."

"Sorry," she says gruffly, tightening her vice grip on his hand. 

Shigure leans in, so close she can feel his breath on her ear when he whispers, "Are you alright?" Akito's head nearly collides with his when she shakes it. 

"Come on then." He sets his basket down on the first shelf he sees and pulls Akito out of the supermarket and into the glare of the sun. Bright spots bloom on her eyelids when she closes her eyes. She presses the heels of her hands into her eye sockets and tries to breathe.

"I thought you were going to leave," she says at last. 

"That's silly."

"I know."

"But I understand." He works a strand of her hair between his fingers, staying by her side until her breathing has calmed. "Let's go home. We’ll get takeout tonight."

And when she holds his hand on the walk back it’s a lifeline, not a leash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for anon on tumblr with the prompt "people are staring." I think I've neglected to mention this the last couple chapters but I'm @floraltohru over yonder.


	26. Intoxicated (Hana x Uo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls get drunk and wholesome.

“What’s the wave report, Hana-chan?” Arisa giggles, her hand tangled in her best friend’s hair. 

They’re drunk on Saki’s bed, legs thrown over each other, lying as still as they can to keep the room from spinning. 

“Wave report is: I miss Tohru,” Saki says, and she reaches out to smooth Arisa’s own hair away from her sticky pink lip gloss. 

“Thanks,” Arisa says, running her tongue over her teeth. “I can’t believe she’s married. And to Carrots. Weird.” 

“Uo-chan, are you going to marry Kureno?” When Saki rubs her eyes, her mascara smudges and a dusting of smoky eyeshadow scrapes away onto her hand. 

Arisa twists her face into a frown. “I like him. I don’t think so.” 

The room swims around her like an impressionist painting when Saki sits up suddenly, focusing on Arisa as intently as she can. “He’s not mistreating you, is he?” 

“Calm down. No evil waves necessary, Hana-chan.” Arisa gropes around until she finds a blanket - black, like the rest of the bedroom - and pulls it over the two of them. “We just want different things. It’s not a big deal or anything.” 

“Did you break up?” 

“Yeah. We’re still living together, though. I think it was kind of a relief for both of us, to be honest.” 

“Oh,” Saki says. “Well, that’s good.” 

“And how are things going for you, like, romantically?”

“Well for starters, I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending they’re you. It’s unsustainable,” Saki says, trailing off in a yawn. “I’m going to run out of strangers.” 

“Why do you pretend strangers are me?” Arisa asks, tugging on the blanket. 

Saki rolls over, half her face smushed into her pillow. “Because I want to kiss you.”

“Why not just kiss me then?” She’s met with a puzzled stare from Saki, nose scrunched in adorable drunken confusion. 

“Is that allowed?” 

“Why wouldn’t it be allowed?” Arisa laughs. 

“I thought you and Kureno…” 

“We broke up, remember?” 

“Oh. Right.” Saki sits up and runs her hand over her hair, attempting to smooth it out. “Would you like to kiss me then?” 

Arisa leans in and finds that Saki tastes like rum and cherries. 

She hopes they’re both done kissing strangers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for tumblr anon with the prompt "I can't keep kissing strangers and pretending they're you." 
> 
> I have literally never written this ship before SO apologies if it's bad.


	27. Bored (Akito x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akito is hot and bored, but not that bored.

Akito is grumpy, swimming in her kimono, a fan held limply in a pale hand. 

"I hate this heat," she hisses. "I'm going to get sick again. I can feel it."

"Now, now," Shigure murmurs, not bothering to look up from his book. "Don't talk like that. Self-fulfilling prophecy and whatnot."

She glares at him, looking all smug and pretentious. Shigure always looks a little smug and pretentious. The glasses he's wearing - that she's certain he doesn't need, by the way - just make him look more smug and pretentious. 

"Oh, I forgot to tell you.” He looks up at her brightly, eyes crinkling into a smile behind his (useless, ornamental, entirely decorative) eyewear. “One of my short stories was published in the school's literary magazine."

"Whatever."

He soldiers on, nonplussed. "The editor said it was one of the best he's ever read."

"I don't believe you." 

"I saved you a copy." He digs it out of his bag, presenting it with a flourish. 

“Why would I want this?”

Shigure shrugs, still unaffected. When she doesn’t take it from his outstretched hand, he sets it gently on the tatami next to her. Sometimes Akito wishes he’d get mad at her, wishes he’d storm out and slam the door. Or even raise his voice, just a little. 

Not chuckle lowly, like he’s doing right now, and lick his finger before turning a new page of the book he’s reading. 

“Leave me alone,” she grumbles, sinking more deeply into her kimono. “You’re annoying me.” 

“I don’t think that’s true,” he says, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. “You don’t hate the company.” 

“It is true, and you’re incredibly irritating.” 

“I can leave,” Shigure says, but he doesn’t even look up from his book, much less move for the door. 

Akito huffs, gripping the fan tighter. “I’m ready for winter already.” 

“You don’t mean that.” 

“I do.” 

“The cold air doesn’t agree with your constitution either,” he points out. 

“Fuck off.” 

They continue to sit in silence and, though she isn’t actually doing anything else, Akito refuses to pick up the magazine. She eyes it warily, sitting on the tatami like a mine. 

“This has been fun, but I have work to do,” Shigure says after a while. He claps his book shut - does he not realize she has a headache or does he not care? - and ruffles her hair on the way out. 

After the sun sets and she's all by herself, boredom gets the best of her.

With nothing better to do, Akito reads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for anon on tumblr with the prompt "I don't believe you."


	28. Stargazing (Rin x Machi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Machi isn't a partier.

The only redeeming element of this party is that the floor is sticky, and Machi likes the sound her shoes make when she tries to walk across it. 

Everything else is a bit much. 

Before he was swept off into the crowd, Kakeru had tried to tell her something, but even shouting three inches from her ear, she couldn’t hear him. She had finally nodded as though she understood before the tide carried him away. 

Now he’s nowhere to be seen, and Machi is desperate for a life preserver. 

She grimaces into her still-three-quarters-full plastic cup and wishes she didn’t hate the taste of alcohol so much. 

“Hey.” She looks up to find a girl towering over her, all pale skin and long, dark hair and thigh-high leather boots. 

“Hi?” Machi says, and she doesn’t intend for it to come out as a question, but it does anyway. 

“Come here.” The girl jerks her sharp chin toward the house’s backdoor, and Machi follows her onto the porch. 

The crisp air hits Machi like a bucket of ice water dunked over her head, splashing her face and working its way down her body. 

“You looked like you could use a break.” The girl sits down on the stairs, looking long and lithe and unbelievably cool. 

Machi doesn’t feel half as badass sitting down next to her, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I don’t really like parties.” 

“Neither do I,” the girl says. “I’m Rin.” 

“Machi.” 

Rin tilts her head up, squinting at the sky. Machi follows her gaze upwards. It’s not a totally cloudless night, but the stars are nice where Machi can see them, scattered and erratic, interspersed with blinking satellites and rogue airplanes. It’s not perfectly quiet; Machi can still hear the din of the party and she swears, at one point, she catches Kakeru’s muffled laugh over the music. 

“I should go back inside,” Rin says after a while. “My friends will get really annoying if they have to come look for me.” 

“It was nice to meet you,” Machi says, and she’s a little surprised to find that she means it. 

“Likewise. See you around, Machi.” 

Machi hopes - prays, even - that she does. 

And when she catches a glimpse of the moon on the walk back to their apartment with a shit-faced Kakeru, she wonders if Rin is seeing it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for anon with the prompt "Come here."


	29. Warmth (Yuki x Kyo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki is cold. He says he isn't.

“You should’ve worn a coat,” Kyo chastises, hands deep in his pockets as he lopes down the steps of their high school. “I told you it was going to get cold this afternoon.” 

“I’m not cold,” Yuki snaps. 

“I don’t believe you,” Kyo says evenly. He grabs Yuki’s hand roughly, dropping it when he feels the chill against his own warm skin. “See? Like ice.” 

“Mind your own business.”

“You’re going to make yourself sick and then Tohru’s going to spin out, and I’m going to have to deal with it. So,” Kyo reasons, “it is my business.” 

“Whatever. I’ll wear a coat tomorrow. Happy?”

“Not particularly.” Kyo shrugs his jacket off. The brisk air prods at his arms through the fabric of his uniform shirt, but it’s not too unpleasant; he typically runs warm anyway. He’d never admit it, but sometimes he just wears the jacket because it looks cool. “Here,” he says, shoving it roughly at Yuki. 

“I’m not wearing your jacket,” Yuki scoffs. 

“Do it so Tohru doesn’t worry.” Yuki rolls his eyes, but it’s a trump card they’ve taken to using on each other as of late, one even Yuki can’t argue with. “And anyway, I can’t kick your ass if you die of hypothermia.” 

“I don’t think I’m at any risk of dying of hypothermia,” Yuki huffs. “Or having my ass kicked.” Kyo tries not to pay too much attention to the way he shoves his hands into the pockets, burrowing further into the bomber.  _ Not cold my ass, _ Kyo thinks. 

Kyo’s jacket doesn’t suit Yuki; it’s worn and weathered and soft and contrasts with Yuki’s sharp cheekbones and even sharper eyes. He looks as out of place in it as Kyo would look in Yuki’s peacoat, what with its clean edges and polished buttons. He shudders at the mental image. 

“What’s wrong?” Yuki asks.  “Nothing.” It was a dumb thought anyway, he thinks.  _ I’ll wear his coat when hell freezes over.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for anon on tumblr with the prompt "I don't believe you."


	30. Gift (Akito x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akito has an admirer. Maybe it's a secret.

School is a formality; the Sohma family name holds enough weight that Akito really doesn’t have to go to class much. As long as the donations keep rolling in, she’s on track to receive her diploma. 

Sometimes, though, Hatori is too busy to take her home mid-day when she gets bored and feigns a fever, which is how it comes to pass that Akito is at school on Valentine’s Day, watching as girls from the sister school flit back and forth through the hallway, standing guard for each other as they sneak candies into the lockers belonging to their respective crushes. 

It’s a stupid tradition, Akito thinks, and all of the girls who participate are ugly anyway. 

She still feels a slight twinge of _something_ in the schoolyard, trying her best to ignore the boys jostling each others’ shoulders and licking their fingers free of any remaining sugar. 

When he arrives, Hatori’s eyes scan the sea of boys, their pink-paper-wrapped packages floating like debris. He doesn’t comment on Akito’s own lack of a gift. 

Hatori doesn’t comment on much of anything, actually. Akito can have anything she wants, but even she can’t make him a conversationalist. They’ve gotten used to sitting in silence during their car rides back to the estate on the rare occasion that she stays until the end of the school day. 

When she throws her schoolbag on her bed, something on her pillow crunches under the force. She shoves the bag to the floor and pulls the package out to examine it; it’s lopsided now, having been crushed by her bag, but it looks carefully-assembled. 

It’s just chocolates. 

Her heart rate is elevated for the rest of the day, and a peculiar feeling starts in her stomach and gradually works its way down to her toes. 

The next week, she finds a handful of particularly perfect cherries from one of the trees. 

She suspects Kureno. He’s an admirer already; there’s not much secret about it. 

But there’s something thrilling about the idea of catching him at it that makes her heart jump. 

More gifts appear on her pillow; brightly colored tins and charms that jingle when they clatter together and hard candy that looks like stained glass when she holds it up to the light. 

She still hasn’t caught Kureno in the act. 

On white day, she finds a book of poetry with a camellia pressed between its pages, this time left outside her room. 

She throws the door open when she hears the floor creak, ready to nab Kureno in the act. 

Instead, she catches a glimpse of Shigure’s jacket as he ducks around a corner. 

“It was you the whole time,” she breathes, but the only soul around to hear is a single bird perched in the lowest branch of her favorite tree. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "it was you the whole time" for a tumblr anon


	31. Revenge (Akito x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shigure deals with the fallout of his shit decisions. Is it fallout if it's on purpose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for: Abuse, Self-Harm, Violence

It’s a painful tumble from the top to the bottom and by the time Shigure rights himself, he can’t for the life of him figure out where he lost his footing. 

Part of the problem could be his persistent allergy to personal responsibility. That’s probably what Hatori would say, if Shigure asked. 

Shigure doesn’t ask. 

Everything hurts. It hurts that he hurts and it hurts that he wants to keep inflicting hurt and it hurts.

Shigure has never been one for matches and razor blades. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know other ways to self-destruct. 

He doesn’t particularly care where the shrapnel lands. 

The ordeal could be the estate’s worst-kept secret; Akito doesn’t have to try to find out the truth. It finds her. Like a bloodhound. 

If she didn’t love him so much, she’d probably kill him. That’s what he’s counting on, at least. 

Akito flies at him like a wraith, her kimono whipping around her like sails in a hurricane. Kureno holds her back halfheartedly and Hatori does so with marginally more effort, but she still lands a few blows. _Good_ , Shigure thinks when a punch grazes his cheekbone. _That should bruise._

Despite their efforts and her struggle, Shigure leans in close. “I might never get another chance to say this,” he says, his breath brushing Akito’s ear. She digs her fingernails into his wrist and it hurts, it hurts just the way he wants it to. “But I don’t regret it.” 

Her shriek hurts too, and he knows his ears are going to ring for days. Hatori yanks him away, swearing under his breath, and from the hallway Shigure thinks he can hear the ghost of a broken sob. 

Good.

She won’t soon forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "I might never have another chance to say this" for anon on tumblr


	32. Paperwork (Machi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Machi visits a certain club.

“I was outvoted,” Yuki says by way of an apology. Machi has barely set foot over the threshold of the student council room and she feels the other three swivel to stare at her immediately. 

“What’s going on?” she asks. 

“We have to send a delegate to get paperwork from each of the clubs,” Yuki says, wincing as though the words are causing him physical pain as he forces them out. 

“And due to a clerical error,” Kakeru says, obviously delighting in the situation, “that includes the Prince Yuki Fan Club, an _officially designated_ school organization.” 

“In my defense, I said we should send Nao,” Yuki says, dropping his head into his hands.

“But he can’t talk to girls,” Kakeru says, ducking out of the way when a red-faced Nao turns to strike. “Yuki obviously can’t go, we’d never see him again.” 

“Kimi can’t go because they hate Kimi,” Kimi says, bright white smile not leaving her perfectly glossed lips. 

“And I don’t want to and I have seniority. So,” Kakeru says. He puts his hands to his mouth like a megaphone and bellows, “Machi Kuragi, come claim your prize!” 

Machi doesn’t say a word to him as she snatches the form from his hands, relishing the minute tear in the corner. 

She wishes the walk from the student council room to the Pits of Hell was a little bit longer. 

“So you’re the witch who’s been seducing our Yuki,” Motoko says, looming like a Yakuza boss sitting behind the desk in the empty classroom the fan club is using as their base of operations, her cronies lingering behind her. 

“No,” Machi says evenly, “but I am the student council treasurer.” 

“You’re a snake,” one of the girls says, voice firm despite the fact that she’s still cowering behind Motoko. 

“I don’t think it’s really productive to talk to other girls like that,” Machi says. She wonders if these are the same girls who bullied Kimi in middle school, and the thought makes her gut twist. 

“It’s not _nice_ to monopolize all of Yuki’s time,” Motoko says. “You must have put a spell on him.” 

“Yeah,” the other girl says. “Tell us what you did.” 

“Was it witchcraft?” Motoko asks. “Hypnotism?” 

“Electric waves?” the youngest chimes in. 

“I don’t know what you’re referring to, but I can assure you I have no romantic intentions toward Sohma-san,” Machi says. 

Motoko looks her over again, dissatisfied. “How do we know you’re not using electric waves on us right now?”

“Is that a thing that regularly happens to you?” Machi asks, perplexed. The longer she’s here, the more deeply disturbed she feels. 

“You’d be surprised. Most of the girls outside of the fan club are witches, demons, or some variation thereupon.” 

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” Machi mumbles under her breath. 

“What did you say?” Motoko asks, and as she towers over her, Machi thinks that Nao is going to need platform shoes if this is ever going to work. 

“Nothing. Please sign the form so I can leave and immediately resign my position.” 

After a few more minutes of sharp glaring, Machi is on her way with the godforsaken paperwork in hand, making her way back to the meeting room. 

Machi’s mission was like pulling teeth; she can’t imagine what it would be like if Motoko actually knew about her crush on the student council president.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "this is why we can't have nice things" for an anon on tumblr.


	33. Farce (Kyo & Kakeru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of roleplay (no, not like that)

Kyo is just looking for a quiet place to study when he comes across Kakeru, babbling to himself in one of the empty classrooms, mumbling something about - is Kyo hearing this correctly? - Yuki’s cheekbones. 

He tries to back out as gracefully as he can, but Kakeru must sense movement, because he swivels and makes direct eye contact. 

“How much of that did you hear?” he asks, face stricken. 

“Not, like, a lot?” Kyo says, but he can tell from the wavering pitch of his own voice that Kakeru knows that he heard  _ enough _ . He rubs the back of his neck, debating whether he should still make a break for the exit. 

“Well, it's kind of a relief,” Kakeru says after a moment. “Kind of nice to have it out in the open, you know?” 

“I guess?” 

“And now you can help me,” Kakeru says, and Kyo can almost hear gears whirring behind his eyes. 

“Sorry, I’m a little lost. Help you with what, exactly?” 

“Asking Yuki out.” 

Kyo blanches, and a quick sprint down the hall is looking better and better. “Look, I really need to study…” he starts, but there’s something really depressing about how panicked Kakeru looks, how worked up he is over  _ Yuki _ of all people. 

“Please?”

_ Fuck. _

“Fine.”

“Great!” Kakeru breathes deeply, centering himself. “Alright, so I’m thinking a role-play scenario. You’ll be Yuki, and I’ll be me.” 

“I don’t wanna be that damn rat,” Kyo says, his nose wrinkling at the mere idea. 

“Well I can’t very well be him, that’ll defeat the whole purpose of the exercise.” His brow furrows and Kyo can tell he’s deep in thought, but then he adds, “and you’re not handsome enough to play me anyway.” 

Kyo scrubs a hand over his face. “Fine. Fine,” he says. “I’ll be Yuki. Now…”  _ Let’s get this over with. _ His face flushes a frankly impressive shade of red as he gives Kakeru some kind of exasperated hand-flapping gesture. “Ask me out, or whatever.” 

This is going to be a disaster. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the prompt "how much of that did you hear?" for an anon on tumblr


	34. Captive (Tohru x Kyo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> caged cat.

Kyo’s been dreading this downpour for days, ever since he started to feel the first twinge in his bones that hinted at the changing weather front. He curls up on his side and wills himself to feel nothing. 

There have been rainshowers, sure, but this is the first proper monsoon since Akito locked the door to the cat’s cage with Kyo inside. 

On nights like these, he thinks of another storm, thinks of his beads discarded on the ground, thinks of the walk back home in the early morning sunshine. 

Here, it’s cold. It’s always cold, but the cold and the dark from the storm feel like they’re robbing the air from his lungs. Kyo’s head pounds and he aches for warmth and light and - 

No. He can’t think about it. 

Sometimes it’s like he can hear her voice, as clearly as if she was standing next to him. 

No. He  _ can _ hear her voice; a soft cry from the window pierces through his heart. 

“Tohru?” 

Kyo trips over himself standing, pitching his body toward the barred window as best he can through his dizziness and disorientation. 

“Kyo!” Tohru grabs his hands - the only parts of him she can reach through the bars - and holds on like she’ll never let go. 

A broken sob dislodges from his chest, and she pulls one hand away to cup his face. “Why are you here?”

“Everyone else went to the beach,” she says, her bangs dripping water into her face. She’s soaking wet and he can’t tell rain and tears apart. “Akito and Kureno are gone.” 

“What if someone sees you?” he asks, thinking of the busybody maids, their gossip network expansive and insidious. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

She shakes her head. “I don’t care.”

“Tohru,” he says, and he realizes he’s missed the way her name sounds rolling off his tongue when he’s not just speaking it into the night. “You should go home.” 

And he’ll miss her when she’s gone, but he couldn’t live with himself if something happened to her on his account. It’s been months, but he’s still clinging to the pieces of himself he can’t lose, still holding onto that protective instinct and a persistent, unconditional adoration. 

“No,” she says fiercely, her eyes glinting as she tightens her grip on his hand. “I’m here and I’m staying.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "I'm here and I'm staying" for vulpixchann on tumblr.


	35. Injury (Kakeru & Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakeru takes a tumble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for blood!

Kakeru probably seems like he just stepped out of a horror movie, drenched in his own blood and mildly disoriented. The thought makes him giggle. 

He can see why Machi is always telling him to watch where he’s going. Has that stairwell always been there?

“M-manabe-san?” He blinks a few times and the girl in front of him shifts into focus, her deep brown eyes awash with concern. Maybe more than concern. Maybe panic. 

“Don’t worry,” Kakeru says. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” 

“That’s a relief,” Tohru says. “Because it looks pretty bad.” 

“Mostly just the nosebleed,” he says, waving her off. “Nosebleeds are so dramatic.” 

“Let me help you.” Her hand is soft when she grabs his. He’ll have to ask her what kind of moisturizer she uses. 

Tohru leads Kakeru into the girls’ bathroom - in any other situation, he’d protest, but he’s really not in any position to fight her on it. He sits on the floor and leans against the wall lazily. 

“Would it be alright if I soaked your shirt in the sink?” she asks. “You don’t want the bloodstains to set.” 

Kakeru nods and fidgets at the buttons, shedding his uniform shirt and sitting in front of her in just his T-shirt. She fills the sink with cold water, then kneels in front of him with a handful of paper towels. 

“That doesn’t look so bad,” she says, inspecting his face after the blood is washed away. “Though I’m afraid you’re definitely going to have some bruises.” 

“Hey Tohru, I - Jesus.” One of Tohru’s friends enters the bathroom and stops in her tracks, wide-eyed. “You lose a fight?” she asks Kakeru. 

“With the stairs,” he says solemnly. “You should see the other guy.” 

“Uo-chan,” Tohru says, “could you see if you can find Yuki?” 

“Yeah, no problem,” she says, and she whips out of the bathroom, yellow hair flying behind her. 

“He’ll be worried about you, you know,” Tohru tells Kakeru, dabbing at a scratch above his eyebrow. “I’m so happy he’s made such great friends.” 

“Thank you,” Kakeru says, grabbing Tohru’s wrist to still her. “Thanks for taking care of me.” 

“Of course.” She pats him on the head affectionately. 

Maybe they could be friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "it's not as bad as it looks" for an anon on tumblr!


	36. Warmth (Kyo x Tohru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> little late night chats

"Hey," Kyo says gently, flicking the kitchen light on. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

His wife -  _ his wife _ , that never gets old  _ \-  _ looks up from her mug of tea, blinking in surprise.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" 

Kyo shrugs, shuffling over and wrapping his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It's okay. I just wondered where you went."

She reaches around to ruffle his hair and he snuggles in closer. Kyo is affectionate, but it's only during hours like these that one could almost call him cat-like. 

"What's bothering you?" 

By now she knows better than to try to talk her way out of it, and part of the reason she loves him is his uncanny ability to make her feel better with nothing but an open ear. 

"We're just getting close to the day," she says, fingers tapping absentmindedly on her mug. "It's always hard."

"I'm sorry," he says, holding her tighter. "Do you want to do something special this year?"

She shrugs. "Maybe. I'm sorry if I've been a little distant lately."

"Tohru," he murmurs into her hair. "You're doing it again."

"Sorry." 

"Stop apologizing."

She starts to speak, then bites her lip. "Right."

"You're allowed to feel whatever you're feeling, and I'm here for whatever you need. Okay?" 

She nods and turns around, abandoning her now-cold tea to peck him on the cheek. "Do you think she'd be proud of me?" 

Kyo reaches out to brush a stray tear from her cheek. "Of course I do." He splays his hands over her stomach, face soft in the sharp light of the kitchen. They stay like that for a while, warm and safe, before he asks, "are you two ready to come back to bed?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "do you have any idea what time it is?" for teanammon on tumblr.


	37. Bespoke (Ayame & Akito)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayame alters a dress.

“So,” she says, trying to slice through the dense awkwardness between the two of them. “How have you been?” 

“The shop has been absolute chaos,” Ayame says, his mouth working around the pins he’s holding there. “Custom orders constantly. Apparently, I can’t have a single moment of rest.” 

“I’m sorry,” Akito says, acutely aware of the fact that he’s currently fitting her for her own custom order at the behest of his best friend. 

“No, no, no.” He waves her off. “I’m delighted. Truth be told, I’ve always wanted to dress you to play up that gorgeous bone structure. And your coloring? Exquisite.” He pats her sharp cheekbone for emphasis and returns to the hem he’s fiddling with. 

“Thank you,” she says, and she’s trying to mean it. He hums in response, and they fall into silence again, the only noise the vague, soft music playing over the shop’s speakers. 

An apology would just make both of them feel uncomfortable. She wishes Shigure was still here, but Mine had whisked him away to, as Ayame announced with great gusto, “preserve the surprise.” 

She hopes there’s nothing more to it than that. 

Ayame steps back to appraise his work, then guides her to the mirror. “I’ve still got a few alterations to make, but what do you think so far?” 

Of all the colors and all the skeins of fabric strewn throughout the shop, Akito probably wouldn’t have picked lavender for herself. The world is scary and she’s anxious and even now she seeks the creature comforts of her blacks and blues and jewel tones. That certainly isn’t to say it looks bad; she’s no expert, but she thinks it suits her. Her silhouette looks almost feminine, but still modest. The dress nips in at the waist and flares out, brushing against her knees when she swishes the skirt. She feels girlish but not garish.

It’s perfect. 

Admittedly, Ayame is a genius. She feels a sharp knot in her throat, a pinching regret that she hadn’t been kinder to him before. 

“Are you happy, Akito?” Ayame asks.

“Yes, thank you.” 

He hums absentmindedly, leaning forward to adjust one of the sleeves. “I meant in general.” 

She hadn’t expected Ayame to get sentimental on her; they had never really cared for each other, and she’d had a sneaking suspicion his tolerance of her was conditional on her relationship with Shigure. 

It’s nice, though. Nice that someone cares. Nice that someone asked. Nice that someone has noticed that she’s trying, desperately trying, to change, to atone, to be a person worthy of forgiveness. 

Akito doesn’t realize she’s crying until Ayame pats her gently on the shoulder. “Now, now,” he says. “You can’t go getting all weepy on me before we’ve even started to accessorize.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "Apparently I can't get a moment of rest" for anon on tumblr.


	38. Teasing (Yuki x Machi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki Sohma is a relentless tease.

Maybe Yuki should go into dentistry; he’s becoming well-acquainted with the sensation of pulling teeth. 

The student council meeting ends as it normally does: Kakeru declares it adjourned even though they still have work to do, he and Kimi skirt out the doorway chattering a language all their own, Nao storms away in a small, angry huff, and Machi and Yuki remain at the table as the dust settles. 

“Are you having fun?” Machi asks dryly, shoving papers haphazardly into her folder. 

“No,” Yuki says, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes to stave off his oncoming headache. “I hate being the only adult in the room.”

“I’m still here,” she says, running a hand over a particularly crinkled form. 

“Don’t think I don’t notice the way you bicker with Kakeru,” he says, and Machi blushes at his fond smile. 

She shoves him lightly, hoping he doesn’t notice. “Shut up.” 

“Cute.” 

“Ugh.” Machi buries her face in her hands. “You’re going to kill me, Yuki Sohma.” 

Softly, tenderly, he pries her fingers away one by one. “I should hope not,” he says, and he’s inches away from Machi now, his hands enveloping hers. 

Why can’t she breathe?

Yuki tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and leans even closer. “I’d like to keep you around for quite some time.” 

If this was one of the romance novels Machi swears she doesn’t read, she would lean forward and slot their lips together and he would slide a hand through her hair and it would be impossible to tell where one of them ended and the other began and - 

But this is not a romance novel. Machi is in no danger of having her bodice ripped. Not that she’d put it past him, necessarily; Yuki is a gentleman most of the time, but he’s also a bastard. 

Instead of throwing herself into his embrace like some wanton maiden, she buries her still-red face in his chest and wraps her arms awkwardly around his waist. For a moment, he struggles to figure out where to put his hands, but he settles for patting her gently on the back. 

Machi murmurs something muffled against the knit of his sweater, but she doesn’t repeat it when he asks her to. 

She’s ready to say the words but she’s not ready for him to hear them just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "I hate being the only adult in the room" for TohrusHat on tumblr (Anxiety Avocado on AO3!!)


	39. Apology (Hatori x Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An apology. A little bit of a punishment.

At first, Shigure tried to tell himself it was the storm keeping him up, the rumbles of thunder rolling in the distance and droplets pattering incessantly against his window. He knew better, though. After a few good hours of tossing and turning, he found himself hunched against the rain outside of Hatori’s house, trying to keep his voice down to avoid waking Hatori’s father. 

“I came to apologize,” Shigure said. “Can I come in?” 

“No.” Hatori’s arms were crossed, his face set in a deep scowl. “Keep talking,” he said after a long pause, and Shigure recognized it for what it was - a second chance and a punishment. He sighed, composing a speech on the spot for his beleaguered best friend. 

While Shigure rambled, Hatori lurked just inside the door. He watched as the rain drenched Shigure, the shoulders of his pajamas turning dark the longer he stood there, his eyes sharp under dampened hair. Hatori didn’t notice when his friend stopped talking. 

“Haa-san?” Shigure asked at last, watching him through the curtain of precipitation with doleful eyes. 

Hatori blinked, realizing he’d missed most of Shigure’s monologue. He turned inward, jerking his neck. “Come inside,” he said.

He was tempted to shove Shigure back out into the rain when he shook water from his hair like a dog the moment the door was shut behind him. “Grow up,” he snapped, wiping stray water drops from his cheek. 

Shigure grinned sheepishly, then followed him through the halls of the house and into Hatori’s bedroom, flopping down like it was his own. “Stop that. You’re all wet,” Hatori said. He grabbed a towel from the closet, and for a moment, he debated reaching out and ruffling Shigure’s wet hair himself. 

He buried the thought, dropped the towel on Shigure’s face, and ignored his friend’s muffled thank-you. 

“Can I stay here?” Shigure asked. “I don’t want to walk home in the rain.” 

It took all of Hatori’s effort to suppress a smile and roll his eyes. “If you must,” he said, and he knew he would have to pretend to be annoyed when he woke to find Shigure wrapped around him in the middle of the night. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I don’t mind,” Hatori said, and he was starting to realize that he meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt. "Keep talking" for anon on tumblr.


	40. Tense (Yuki x Kakeru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No, not that kind of tension.

Kakeru allows Yuki to sigh deeply, frown, and roll his shoulders half a dozen times before he says anything. 

"You're tense," Kakeru notes at last, pushing aside the culture festival itinerary he's been pretending to work on. 

"Keen observation," Yuki says, and Kakeru reminds himself that Yuki's tone is probably not directed at him, per se. And if it is, it's probably because he's being annoying and therefore he deserves it. 

"I have an idea."

"You're not exactly known for your great ideas." Yuki puts aside his own work and his reading glasses, leaving them both on the table in front of him.

"Harsh," Kakeru says lightly. "But not incorrect."

"Well?" 

Kakeru slides behind Yuki and drops his hands onto Yuki's shoulders. Yuki stiffens at the contact. 

"Loosen up," Kakeru chastises. "It'll defeat the whole purpose if you just wind yourself tighter." 

Yuki rolls his eyes, but he takes a deep breath and tries to untangle his shoulders from his ears. 

The pressure is gentle but firm as Kakeru starts kneading the muscles of Yuki's shoulders. "Yikes," Kakeru says. He digs his thumb into a particularly rigid knot. "That has to hurt."

Yuki hisses in pain and Kakeru winces. "Yeah, it does."

"I can stop?" 

Yuki stretches out his shoulder, testing it's range of motion. "No, it's okay. It's starting to feel better." 

"If you insist." Kakeru resumes his ministrations, but his heart is in danger of prisonbreaking through his ribcage when Yuki groans and leans back into his touch.

"I think you owe me a retraction," he says once he’s confident his voice can achieve a neutral pitch. 

"What do you mean?" 

"This was a good idea."

Yuki scoffs. "Whatever."

"Fine, fine, point taken." Kakeru moves his hands away, but Yuki captures them in his own and presses them back into his shoulders. 

"It wasn't a bad idea," Yuki says, and Kakeru relishes in the faint hint of desperation in his tone.

"I'll take it."

Yuki hums, content, and Kakeru wishes he could see the look on his face. He finally pulls away when he fears he might be overcome by the urge to drop a kiss into Yuki's silvery hair. 

“I should head home.”

“I should too.” Yuki shoves his things into his bag haphazardly, and Kakeru has to suppress a smile at the fact that he doesn’t seem nearly as stiff as he was just a few minutes before. “Thanks for this.”

“Yeah, no problem, dude.” 

“Let me know if you have any other ideas.” 

“Yeah, for sure.” Yuki leaves Kakeru alone in the student council room with nothing but the warmth in his hands and the flock of butterflies in his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "you're not exactly known for your great ideas" for lemonfezt on tumblr.


	41. Breathless (Kyo & Kyoko)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are different, Kyo is freaking.

"My daughter is the domestic one," Kyoko says apologetically, and Kyo jumps when she slams the cabinet in the kitchen shut. 

His hands are still shaking. 

"I'm not very good at making tea. Instant coffee okay?" The mugs clinking together startle him as if they're gunshots. 

He's freaking out. How is she not freaking out? 

"Hey kiddo?" With a sigh, Kyoko sits down across from him on the floor. "You need to take a deep breath. I know you're pretty shaken up, but everything is alright now, so you need to breathe. Okay?" 

Kyo nods. He tries to dredge up the best breathing exercises he remembers from the dojo. 

"There you go," she says. 

She returns to the kitchen and sets a mug of instant coffee in front of him. Kyo doesn't have the heart to tell her that he's really not a coffee person. 

"Oh, you're bleeding." When Kyoko jerks his arm up to examine his elbow, Kyo notices the scrape for the first time. 

He must've bashed it against the concrete when he… 

"Hey." Her tone is firm as she sets the first aid kit in front of him, but not ungentle. "You're not breathing." She flicks him on the head, ruffling his orange hair, and the directness of it almost makes him laugh. 

"Sorry," he says. 

"Don't worry about it." The antiseptic stings when she applies it to his arm, but he doesn't flinch away. "I should be apologizing to you, honestly. I should've been paying better attention."

"Like you said," Kyo says, willing his mouth to form words in spite of his anxiety. "Everyone is alright now."

"Exactly." She's precise as she wraps his arm, finishing it off with a gentle pat. "There. You'll stay for dinner, won't you?" 

"I-" He starts to protest, but the rattle of the doorknob sends the woman bolting out of the room. 

"Tohru-chan! Welcome home!" She wraps her daughter in a hug at the door. "How was your quiz? Did you ace it?" 

Kyo can't quite piece together what the girl is saying from the other room. He should never have stayed. He should've gone to the dojo and hit things until he felt better. Shit, fuck, he really does need to remember to breathe. Everything is fine now. Why can't he breathe? 

"Oh! There's someone I want you to meet."

He's not in a state to be meeting anyone, but Kyo does his best to look like he's not falling to pieces when Kyoko ushers her daughter into the room. 

And once Kyo can finally inhale again, maybe he'll reevaluate his opinion on the idea of love at first sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt "You need to take a deep breath" for la-belle-et-la-bete on tumblr!


	42. Headache (Shigure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shigure is hungover

Shigure Sohma is a bachelor, damn it. A bachelor and an author and a man about town. His home should be an oasis, an escape, a remote writer's retreat where he can create and meditate and.. 

…ride out his hangover in peace. 

Which is what he's trying to do at the moment. It's an unfortunate fact, though, that his home has become the epicenter for the social lives of half a dozen teenagers in his family. 

For a while, Shigure stares up at the ceiling from his futon, listening to the racket in his living room. He can’t remember for the life of him what they’re even doing out there - playing cards, watching a movie, maybe even just sitting and talking and being kids for a while. He hopes that’s it. 

Kagura sing-songs something every so often, earning her a halfhearted scolding from Kyo. When Yuki joins in to tease, he starts shouting until Tohru’s panicked pleading soothes him. Hatsuharu and Rin are out there too, Shigure vaguely remembers Tohru telling him. But to their credit, neither one is making too much noise. They're probably just judging the other four in that quiet, cool goth way that teenage Shigure would've envied. 

He knew he liked those kids. 

As they shuffle and shout outside his door, Shigure tries to sleep, but never does more than drift halfheartedly, their voices still audible even when he’s not entirely awake. 

After they've all left, he gives up his efforts and emerges from his cave, blinking against the light of the living room. 

"Oh!" Tohru's eyebrows shoot up, hidden behind her bangs. "I thought you were asleep."

"Ah, no, unfortunately not. Apparently, I can't get a single moment of rest." Shigure hopes he doesn’t sound bitter; he has nothing to gain by making Tohru feel bad. 

"Drink too much last night?" Yuki asks, and when Shigure looks across the table he sees that both cat and mouse are pinning him with withering glares. 

"Let me get you a cup of tea," Tohru says, her bright smile splitting the tension in the room. 

"You don't have to," Kyo says, still staring daggers at Shigure. 

"Oh, I don't mind."

Yuki and Kyo both leave him there without a word, two sets of bare feet storming up the stairs. Shigure's head is pounding too hard for him to care about their obvious rudeness, though he does wish they could be annoyed at him a little less loudly. 

“Did Yuki and Kyo go up to bed?” Tohru asks, setting his tea down and kneeling down next to him. 

“They didn’t say,” Shigure says. “I guess you’ll just have to keep me company for a while.” 

“Of course,” she says, a faint pink tinting the tips of her ears. 

His tea is too hot when he takes the first sip of it, but he finds himself mostly unbothered when Tohru starts fretting. Even over his throbbing headache, he finds himself grateful for little moments like these.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the prompt "apparently, i can't get a single moment of rest" for artsake-dreams on tumblr!


	43. Oblivious (Yuki x Kakeru)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakeru confronts Yuki about his past in the most annoying way possible.

"With all due respect, you're out of your fucking mind." Yuki doesn't even bother to look up from the itinerary he's been proofreading. "Why would you say something so absurd?" 

"I'm not saying you  _ knew _ you had a crush on Kyo," Kakeru says. "But you definitely had a crush on Kyo."

"You're giving me a headache."

"Yeah, well, what's new?" 

Yuki drops his reading glasses onto the desk in front of him, digging his fingers into his temples. Kakeru watches him for a moment before he continues. 

"I'm not like,  _ mad _ about it or anything," he says. "You know I'm not the jealous type. And he's hot, so I get it."

"What evidence do you have to support this theory of yours?" Yuki asks. 

"Huh. Now that I think about it, all of the Sohmas are pretty hot."

"You know that's a weird thing to say, right?" 

"Oh, anyway. I don't know, it's just a vibe I get. Like you two could have definitely rocked the whole rivals to lovers thing, right?" 

"You're being more stupid than usual," Yuki says. He squints at the itinerary again, his glasses still discarded. 

"You were rivals, right? When you were kids?" 

"I guess." Yuki's not trying to be a bitch, but it still comes out pretty short. Doesn't Kakeru have his own work to do? 

Kakeru settles on the corner of Yuki's desk, kicking his feet idly. "And now you're friends?" 

"I wouldn't call us friends."

Kakeru frowns, concentrating. "You eat meals together, walk to and from school together, go on vacation together, and you're pretty much always hanging out with him and Tohru."

"Okay?"

"Friends."

"I don't even know if I like him."

"I'm just saying. Rivals to friends to lovers is a natural progression. And it seems like you had that really aggressive flirting thing down to a tee."

"Kakeru…"

"I mean, don't you think that's sorta hot? The whole 'push me up a wall, are you gonna punch me or kiss me' type deal?" 

"Kakeru," Yuki snaps. "I don't have, nor have I ever had, a crush on Kyo."

"Yuki," Kakeru says slowly. "Did you or did you not call him pretty the first time you met him?" 

"Well - yeah, I - I meant…" Yuki feels himself flushing scarlet under Kakeru's scrutiny. 

"That's what I thought!" Kakeru says cheerfully. "You had a crush, Yun-Yun. Own it."

"Drop dead."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For miss-coverly on Tumblr who heard this idea and said "please drop everything and write this immediately"


End file.
